Gas-filled bladders, such as conventional balloons, are frequently used as decorative displays for celebrations and other festive occasions such as birthdays, holidays, anniversaries, etc. These conventional balloons are of the type having a constricted neck portion that terminates at one end in an inflation aperture and at the other end in an imperforate inflatable sidewall. Several devices have been developed for clampingly holding the neck portions of one or more inflatable balloons in a sealed configuration while at the same time displaying the balloons in a decorative fashion.
One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,366,999, issued to Darby on Feb. 6, 1968. Darby discloses a balloon holder and seal consisting of an annular plastic body having a transverse sidewall with a plurality of spaced slots each communicating with an opening in the transverse wall. The peripheral wall also has a plurality of additional slots associated with the first named slots to form pairs of slots extending from opposite ends of the peripheral wall, with each pair of slots being sized and shaped to hold the neck portion of a balloon so that the inflated portion projects radially outward from the peripheral wall. A central opening is provided in the transverse wall through which the neck portion of a balloon is placed. Additional balloons are placed in the pairs of slots so that a decorative arrangement is achieved. The annular plastic body acts as a stand for holding the arrangement of balloons.
One disadvantage of Darby is that the annular plastic body cannot be used in combination with other annular plastic bodies or in combination with other structural elements to form unique and fanciful decorative displays. More particularly, the position of the slots around the annular plastic body of Darby does not permit the neck portions of the balloons to frictionally engage any post that could be inserted through the central opening in the transverse wall. Consequently, other attachment means must be provided if mounting the annular plastic body to another structure were desired. In addition, each pair of slots in Darby opens to opposite ends of the annular plastic body, requiring the balloons to be inserted through the transverse wall before they can be sealed in the slots. Consequently, the complicated arrangement of slots in Darby makes it very difficult to mount a balloon and it provides no means for holding the plastic body to other structural members.